True, but as alanrf pointed out most mail clients still default to deleting the mail from the server, and most users do not touch the default settings
JanP,
I am not enthralled by IMAP accounts. I prefer to manage and archive my mail myself and not to have it mined and tracked by the likes of Google so I strictly limit the amount that remains on the server. I no longer travel as much as I once did and the need for me to find my email when away from home is not there.
I have a large number of different account types because I support a group of other folks and I want to cover the options and account types they all use.
I was concerned with the privacy issue of Gmail at first but the convenience has won. I think quite many people simply go for convenience rather than being “enthralled” just like using Google search. That said, quite many people including me are worried about relying too much on the services provided by Google and giving too much information to them, too.
As for convenience, we can have both POP and IMAP access on a single Gmail account. We can have our mail on our main machines in this way. As an alternative, I think we can keep copies of each retrieved mail on the local folder through mail client setting, too. As for checking mail on the move, people concerned with privacy would prefer VPN, though. The important thing is that there are options available and we can choose our own ways depending on our needs.
Hi JanP,
I have never had any of the problems you have suggested while using Earthlink web-based email. It is much safer to not download email onto your computer as it is always possible for some type of maiware to get by our defences. I can only guess that Earthlink does a better job of it than the ISP’s you have used.
Anyway, there are advantages and disadvanges, to some degree, depending on the ISP and/or email client each of us chooses to use depending on our own requirements.